>Tomorrow is Another Day: Stockadeathon 15K Race Recap

>I’m a few days late with this recap and I know you’ve been waiting with baited breath for this post. Sunday was a beautiful day for a race in upstate New York. It was a bit chilly at the start of one of the oldest 15Ks out there (so they say). It was my first 15K. I was somewhat excited just because I love races and their energy but I wasn’t so thrilled that I woke up with an excruciating brain ache, like someone slammed my head repeatedly in a steel door. FANTASTIC.

My headache started to subside once I got to the start and the crossing the knees feeling started to kick in. This is pretty common and I’m usually able to hit up the little girls’ room at least twice but the line was so long that I was only able to circle around once. No big deal, it was probably just the usual nerves kicking in.

This pretty much sums things up.

This year’s race was the biggest in 36 years (~1,800 runners). I’m not sure why, but I would guess that more people are finding their way into the sport and have realized what a great and supportive community it really is, you know, in addition to all those positive health benefits.

Lots of tall skinny guys. Where the ladies at?!

The hills on this course are somewhat intense – long, steady incline at mile 5.5, plateau, and then another steady incline at mile 7.5. Even though I train on hills these were tough. Oh yea, and the potholes? World class.

I told myself I wanted to finish in 1:30 since I didn’t know what to expect, was feeling a little off, and wanted to take my time to see all those colonial drummers I thought would bamboozle runners at the halfway point. I DID finish in under 1:30 but was distraught – no drummers! Disappointment quickly set in for this history buff.

Final time: 1:29:50/9:39 pace

Is it over yet?!

Not my best, not my worst. While I set a goal for myself, it was a goal I knew I could easily reach so I wouldn’t feel disappointed in myself. Crazy thing is, I STILL felt disappointed because I knew I could’ve done better. My head wasn’t completely in the game and that was the issue. Running is 90% mental!

In the words of Scarlett O’Hara who most likely ran faster from a burning plantation than I did in the Stockadeathon, “Tomorrow is another day.”